Wages upfront?

16 weeks is a lot. As employers we will advqnce up to a months salary to be paid off over 6 months and only for employees who've been with us for 18 months plus. We won't lend more than once a year either and never while part of previous payment outstanding.

A request for 16 weeks in advance without a seriously good reason would normally be refused out of hand, honestly it's CF territory

Couple of questions , when he said previously he could lend you your wages early and you could pay him back , did you talk about repayment times , 16 weeks is a long t8me for someone who has only worked for him for a year . Normally subbing wages would literally be giving your employee the money a bit early that month if they were stuck.

Also , why the reluctance to use a credit card for a £800 purchase ( get that it could be that your credit score etc won’t allow ) , it would offer you more consumer protection and you could take out an interest free one ?

You don't give any information about him or his business, but most have to plan cashflow pretty carefully, i.e. the timing of receipts and when suppliers have to be paid. It may be that this unanticipated outgoing would leave him short of cash for other obligations he has and he's trying to find a way to arrange it.

I don't think you should be asking your boss to help you manage your cashflow like this.

Use your credit card. This is what they're for. You get a few week's free credit anyway and if you can't afford to pay for the thing before they start charging interest, you could make the purchase, apply for a free balance transfer card and transfer the money to the free card, to pay it off interest free.

Then you sort it all out yourself without asking your boss favours, when it might make him feel uncomfortable and obliged to help you when it's not his responsibility.

He probably needs some time to think about the terms of making you the loan (which ultimately it is, an advance of wages would usually be a single pay period, not 16 weeks) in order to respond: he isn’t just going to say “yup” if he’s a professional.

Don't worry about it! It might not be something he agrees to or even likes, but all he has to do is say no.

I would say that 16 weekends is a LONG time to request in advance though! Were other requests of similar duration?

If he ums and ahhs, perhaps counter suggest that you've thought about it, and perhaps 1/2 or 1/4 would be a better arrangement, then you can put the remainder on credit?

As he has done it before and said to you he would for you it's not being a CF to ask. He might say no though, which would be within his rights.

He sounds like a nice boss, hopefully he'll live up to his earlier offers and come the with the money for you.